A Temp For Christmas

NEW FESTIVE TODAY SERIAL STARTS CONTINUES PART TWO: Gabriel has won the battle over the tree… now to coax Carole to have fun. Is it beyond even him?FESTIVE

had worked the previous evening but she still could not bring herself to say what he wanted to hear.

“I think it has no place in the workplace.” She entered her office.

She watched him cross to the kitchen. She had been mean to him over the tree, and they both knew it. It was what Christmas did to her now. The more everyone was overtaken by Christmas spirit, the more she wanted to retreat inside a Scrooge-like shell.

Next year, she promised herself, she would take the week before Christmas off and go somewhere they didn’t celebrate the event. There must be somewhere in the world like that, mustn’t there?

She closed her door and her blinds, but it wasn’t enough to shut out the whoops and cheers coming from the office as the staff arrived to find the tree.

“You must have loved Christmas as a child, surely?” he persisted.

“You don’t have to do all this, you know.” She gestured to the pies. “You don’t have to buy their affection.” He looked shocked.

“Is that what you think I’m doing? Why would I need to buy their affection? I’ll probably never see them again after I leave this booking. I’m doing it because I love Christmas. Most people do,” he added.

She met his gaze.

“I’m sensing this is not a good time to tell you about the carol concert at lunchtime on the final day,” he said with a mischievous grin.

“Dear God.”

“Indeed,” Gabriel said.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think my mother had sent you here undercover.” He finished making his coffee.

“I’m glad to hear someone in your family does Christmas,” he said. “You should try it sometime. You might find you like it, if you let yourself.”

If only it were that simple. If only she could flick a switch that blunted the painful memories. In those circumstances, she might be able to let Christmas back into her heart. In the meantime, however…

It was nearly nine pm when Carole pushed her keyboard back and stretched. It had been a long day. No wonder she was feeling hungry.

She was in the process of shutting down her PC when a noise from the open-plan office caused her to look up. Cocooned with the blinds shut, Carole had thought she was alone. She knew they had security in the building… but what if someone had got in?

She took up a heavyweight hole punch – not much of a weapon, but when the alternative was a stapler it was the best she could do. There was a low light seeping under the blinds in the meeting room and a shadowy figure moving about inside.

She considered raising security, but anger took over. How dare someone break in? She crossed the office and threw open the meeting room door, the hole punch raised, ready to strike.

“Come on, Carole. One drink. I’m buying.” He snatched his coat from the back of the chair and walked to the door before pausing to look back at her.

“I’ll get my coat and bag,” she said.

Carole had heard the team talk about having a drink at The King’s Head. She had never been. It was an old-fashioned London pub with wooden floors and a brass rail along the bottom of the bar. Carole felt her stomach rumble as a plate of fish and chips was carried past her. “Hungry?” Gabriel asked.

She nodded.

“What would you like?”

“The fish looks good.”

“And to drink?”

“Red wine, please.”

“Right you are. Grab a table. I’ll be back,” he said, plunging into the crowd.

Carole looked around her. There was a small table in the corner. She squeezed